We pulled out of Tok on Day 83, June 14, on Highway 1 (The Tok Cutoff). We talked about where we might go, so decided we had time to spare and could go ahead and visit Valdez. We haven't traveled the Nabesna Road that takes you into Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve so that was our route. It's a 42 mile long road and is one of two roads into the park. They were having flooding in the park so we wouldn't be able to make it all the way down. We drove in about 18 miles and found a beautiful wayside to set up camp. The snow capped mountains are so beautiful and magnificent. You could kinda see a lake through the brush where we saw some trumpeter swans. Enjoyed a beautiful sunset around 11 p.m.
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| Looking into Wrangell - St. Elias National Park |
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| This mountain range is breathtaking! |
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| Don't see this kind of sign everyday! |
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| Boondock campsite for the night! |
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| Views from the other side of our campsite! |
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| Twilight shot |
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| Beautiful sunset happening around 11 pm |
There's so much daylight now that we tend to stay up late and sleep late. Oh well, guess it's to be expected. We rambled on down the road toward Valdez. We stopped at the junction with Glenallen at the Visitor Center and to get fuel. There was a taco stand! Dang an order of 3 tacos was $21!
We found a pretty campsite at Squirrel Creek Recreational Area State Park. That creek was a tumbling and roaring! And the mosquitoes are a buzzing. But we set up our enclosed canopy and that eliminated that problem! Neighbors came over to visit and sit by the fire.
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| Parked alongside Squirrel Creek |
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| Squirrel Creek |
Day 85, June 16 we got back on the road to Valdez. The waterfalls were everywhere and the snow capped mountains going over Thompson Pass were outstanding. The Richardson Highway to Valdez is still one of the prettiest. We decided to stay a night at the Bear Paw Adult RV Park. We stayed here the last time we were in Valdez. It's situated on the water so you have a pretty view. We walked into town to see what was going on. Since it's Father's Day, I asked Ron if he wanted to eat out or I would cook him something. We found some rockfish to cook so that settled it - he cooked his own Father's Day dinner! and it was oh so good! We have some really great neighbors and then some really cool Pennsylvania people that we keep running into came to the same park. Needless to say we really enjoyed the campfire! John and his wife even brought their fiddle and guitar over for some entertainment!
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| Worthington Glacier |
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| The lupines are everywhere! |
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| Thompson Pass |
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| Thompson Pass |
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| Haven't had rockfish in a few years. Happy Fathers Day! |
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| I know it's a photo through the windshield. |
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| It's named bridal veil falls I guess because all the brides are wanting a photo op. They wouldn't move! |
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| Back porch view from our campsite |
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| Valdez Harbor |
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| Only thing wrong here is there's no fish hanging on the hooks! |
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| Back porch view |
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| A fun time socializing around the fire! Hope to see these guys in the hill country in our future. |
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| Trying for a sunset! |
Day 86, June 17 we packed up to go check out the campsites across the Valdez Arm, past the fish hatchery. Well, I wasn't going to pay for a piece of gravel to park on. The view was good, but. We made a stop and did the walking tour of the Fish Hatchery there. Birds were everywhere. We didn't see any fish in the water, but here comes something big swimming up to the weir. It was a big old sea lion! I don't know if he looked so big because he was by himself or what. I guess he was just scouting out his favorite feasting area. The fish should start running in a few weeks.
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| Looking across at Valdez |
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| My new friends |
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| Trying to figure out what it is! |
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| Mr. Sea Lion |
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| It was the beginning of a train tunnel that never happened. |
We drove back over Thompson Pass and found a nice spot to boondock in. Got all kinds of snow views and are parked by a creek that's tumbling. Can't beat it! I decided to check to see if I could move our Denali Reservations up. Usually starting about 2 weeks out folks start canceling. Due diligence paid off and I was able to get us in a week earlier. Yay! Now we can get to the Kenai a little earlier! Ready to do some fishing!
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| View at the campsite |
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| View through our back window. |
Next up our journey will take us up to the Denali Highway (8) and eventually into Denali National and State Park.
